What to Call "First Communion"?

[alisond]

Although the Episcopal Church does not have a First Communion ritual like the RC our church still does a ceremony with some instruction about Communion done with the kids in the weeks preceding the ceremony. While we find that parents want their children to participate in this instruction and recognize it with a ceremony of sorts, it is confusing to refer to it as "First Communion" since the Episcopal Church does not technically have First Communion. We live in a heavily Catholic area and our kids see the lavish celebrations that go with the RC version which tends to make it even harder to explain. We want to rename our ceremony and are looking for good suggestions on what we could call this "Recognition of Communion" type of ceremony. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[srigdon]

I'm not sure I see what's so wrong with calling it 'first communion.' Have some of these kids had communion before, and yet are getting instruction anyway?

Maybe you could use the word 'catechumenate'. The catechumenate is traditionally used to describe the period of instruction in Christian practice, which is exactly what you're doing. Yourdictionary.com defines a catechumen as "a person, esp. an adult, receiving instruction in the fundamentals of Christianity before baptism or confirmation." Unfortunately, I don't think the word is generally used for people who have already been baptized. But you could probably appropriate the word for use without too much protest.